In 1958 the UT Hearing and Speech Center began its WBIR television program Stop! Look! And Listen! The 15-minute program featured Dr. Bernard Silverstein as “Dr. Bernie” and used pictures drawn by a cartoonist. In its first year of operation, the show drew an audience of twenty-two thousand, and a number of area schools used … Continued

John Heiskell, born in Rogersville while his parents were visiting from Memphis, was the grandson of Frederick Heiskell, publisher of the Knoxville Register. In 1890 he entered UT. Before he had completed his freshman year, Dr. Thomas Jordan suggested that he enter the junior class for the next year, which he did, graduating in three … Continued

The annual Helen B. Watson Lecture was established in 1980 to honor Dr. Watson as she retired from UT after 38 years of service as a professor of physical education and associate dean in the College of Education.

On March 2, 1941, signs with “Say Hello / This is Tennessee’s / HELLO WALK” were placed at either end of the sidewalk linking Hesler Biology and the YMCA Building. The All Students’ Club Council devised the system of designating various parts of the campus and marking them with signs as an area upon which … Continued

In 1902 the first protective headgear worn by UT football players was a noseguard attached to a cap-like strap arrangement. Leather helmets were adopted in 1911 following President Theodore Roosevelt’s threat to ban the game because of the number of injuries. The brown leather helmets were painted orange and white in 1931. From 1936 to … Continued

The first computing help desk opened in June 1993. Requests for help could be made by calling the telephone number 974-8200, which had 10 phone lines; by fax using the number 974-4810; or by sending e-mail to “helpdesk” on the Unix, VAX, or IBM systems. Janis Robinson was the first coordinator of the service. All … Continued

In 1977 the College of Nursing instituted the HELPS—Hospital Educational Learning Programs and Services—outreach program to offer up-to-date information to the staffs of rural hospitals and clinics in Tennessee. Videotapes made by nursing faculty and area health professionals were shown in a specially outfitted trailer, which served as the locus of the extension education program.

First baseman Todd Helton graduated from Knoxville’s Central High School in 1992 and received a scholarship to play baseball and football at UT. In football he served as backup quarterback to Heath Shuler in his freshman and sophomore years and behind Jerry Colquitt (ahead of Peyton Manning) in his junior year. When Colquitt was injured, … Continued

In 1982, along with Dr. Milton Constantin, botany professor Dr. Randolph Henke founded Phyton Technologies, a technology transfer business, which used tissue culture technology to propagate large numbers of plants from a single tissue sample and provided a means for selectively enhancing certain qualities of plants. Henke and Constantin developed the technologies at UT, and … Continued

Bette Henritze attended UT from September 1944 to June 1946. She has a long and distinguished acting career in plays, movies, and television. Her movie credits include The Hospital, The World According to Garp, Other People’s Money, Object of My Affection, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Judy Berlin, Rage, The Day the Ponies Come Back, and Far … Continued